SPECIAL NEEDS STATEMENT The Staff and Governors of Victoria Community School place Special Needs at the centre of its whole philosophy. Our Statement of Aims is: Working with parents, children and support agencies to make a positive difference for all. Providing our children with a challenging education which meets their academic, physical social, emotional and moral needs. To raise the aspirations and expectations for all our pupils, including those with SEND. The staff in school work closely with parents and other agencies to ensure that the needs of all our children are met within the school. Our Special Needs Policy is a reflection of the school s practice of Inclusion and Equal Opportunities. Our School Improvement Plan reflects the importance of raising of attainment in the core subjects. 1
File: Staff Initials: EL Date: 10.14 Pages: Review: EL Date: 10.15 POLICY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OCTOBER 2014 This policy was co-produced by the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) in consultation with the Head teacher and Senior Leaders, Governors, Staff, and Parents of Pupils with SEN. The School SENCO is Mrs Elizabeth Laughlin, who is also a member of the Senior Leadership Team. The following documentation was used in developing this policy: SEND Code of Practice 2014. The School Aims, Values and Mission Statement Equality Act 2010 Schools SEN Information Report Regulations 2014. Statutory Guidance on Supporting Pupils with medical conditions April 2014-10-26 Safeguarding Policy Accessibility Plan The policy is reflected in all curriculum and policy statements. Definition of Special Educational Needs At Victoria we define special educational needs as: A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A learning difficulty or disability is a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age. Special educational provision means educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for others of the same age in a mainstream setting in England. Health care provision or social care provision which educates or trains a child or young person is to be treated as special educational provision. Code of Practice 2014 Objectives At Victoria we are striving to provide an inclusive environment for all pupils, as published in our admissions policy. The staff and governors will ensure that the necessary provision is made for and the needs met of any pupil who has special educational needs and that those needs are made known to all staff who will teach them. The staff and governors will ensure that the teachers can identify and provide for those pupils in order for them to access the full range of activities at the school and thus provide an equal right to a broad and balanced curriculum. To ensure that all staff have the opportunity for training and development, support, information and advice on SEND. To develop a close and active partnership with parents. To develop strong and effective multi-agency partnerships and other local initiatives to the benefit of pupils. To identify possible needs early through partnership with agencies (including cultural and religious groups) and parents. To ensure that our teaching is Dyslexia Friendly and Communication Friendly, taking into account the variety of learning styles. 2
Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, including where pupils access support from Teaching Assistants or specialist staff. To work within the guidance of the SEND Code of Practice 2014. Recognition of factors which affect our children, which may result in identification of Special Educational Needs At Victoria we acknowledge that all children progress and develop at different rates. Children will not be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because their language at home is different from the language in which they are taught, neither will they be regarded as having a learning difficulty due to cultural differences. Children will be identified as having a learning difficulty if they: Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age. Have experienced an interrupted education which had resulted in significant gaps in their knowledge, which affects their learning. Where children fail to achieve, despite having access to a differentiated curriculum, then parents and staff will decide whether the child has special educational needs and identify appropriate provision to meet the child s needs. Lack of adequate progress may be indicated by: Little or no progress despite targeted teaching approaches. Working at levels significantly below age expectations, particularly in literacy and numeracy. Presenting emotional and/or social difficulties which have not been managed by strategies usually employed. Sensory or physical problems that result in little or no progress despite the provision of appropriate aids or equipment. Poor communication or interaction, requiring specific interactions to access learning. (See Appendix A Procedure for Special Educational Needs Identification ). This is in line with the SEND Code of Practice 2014 which identifies four broad areas of need Communication and interaction Cognition and learning Social, emotional and mental health difficulties Sensory and / or physical needs. Managing SEND provision Co-ordinating and Managing provision The governors have important statutory duties towards pupils with special educational needs. They will: Have responsibility for deciding the school s general policy and approach to meet the needs of SEN pupils. Ensure, through performance management, that objectives for leadership and the school development plan include SEN. Monitor the school s SEN policy and provision through the process of self-review. Have an up to date knowledge of the school s SEN provision. There will be a designated governor for SEN. Currently this is Mrs Carol Hawtree. Report annually to parents on the school s SEN policy. 3
The Headteacher has responsibility for: Day to day management of provision for pupils with SEN. Informing the governing body. Working closely with the SENCO and Head of Speech and Language Centre. The SENCO is responsible for The operation of the school s SEN policy. Making efficient use of resources in ensuring the appropriate provision for pupils with special educational needs. Promoting a Dyslexia Friendly teaching approach. Co-ordinating special education needs provision within the, school. Disseminating information to support and teaching staff, including contributing to Inset. Co-ordinating provision for pupils through a graduated response. Liasing with teachers, support staff, parents, external agencies, other schools. Liasing with Head of Speech and Language Centre. (See Appendix B, SENCO job description). Teachers have responsibility for: Devising strategies and identifying appropriate methods of access to the curriculum Working with the pupil and providing further help on a daily basis. Writing, planning and delivering an individual programme, with the support of the SENCO. Advise and support the Support Staff within school. Effective communication with parents. Ensuring they use a variety of teaching and learning styles to provide a Dyslexia Friendly classroom. Support Staff support the teaching and learning of individuals and groups of pupils by Supporting the liaison between parents and teaching staff. Supporting pupils to achieve targets identified in IEPs. Differentiating provision for groups as identified in the school support strategies. Being included in the planning and evaluation of individual and group programmes. The graduated response to SEN Provision Provision is defined as educational provision which is additional to, or, otherwise different from, the educational provision made for other children of the same age. This provision may include: Provision of specialist or adapted equipment or learning materials. Additional regular individual or small group support. Access to specialist support from other agencies. The additional response will be provided through a graduated response providing a level and type of support to enable the child to achieve adequate progress. The provision will be identified and managed by the SENCO but planned and delivered by teaching and support staff. This graduated response may be accelerated if a child arrives in school with obvious special needs. 4
Class provision Prior to identification as having SEN, a pupil will have had access to a differentiated programme which will include: Quality first teaching Targeted support by the class teacher within the classroom environment. Access to class support programmes such as Olympic Readers, precision teaching etc Additional home learning opportunities. Provision of nurturing and mentoring opportunities (HOPE, Positive Play). Where a child fails to make adequate progress despite this, then the school will consider further intervention and identify the pupil as having SEN. This is determined through regular termly meetings with the SENCO and the Headteacher (although children can be reviewed more regularly if necessary). At these meetings all children who require additional support are identified through the assessment and tracking system and appropriate provision discussed. Those at risk of under achievement and those who are vulnerable are also considered. Where necessary, the SENCO or Class Teacher will carry out additional assessments in order to establish the correct provision. Once a provision has been identified, the cycle of ASSESS PLAN - DO REVIEW (1) will commence. School Provision When a pupil is identified as having SEN it may be necessary to put in further provision, provided by staff from outside the classroom. This will be initiated when a pupil fails to make adequate progress at APDR (1) This will be decided by the SENCO in consultation with all staff, parents and where possible the pupil. The SENCO will evaluate the school s intervention, assess the pupil and then identify provision from within the school s own resources eg: Additional planned learning programmes.eg Better Reading, Motor Skills Utd Provision of different learning materials or specialist equipment. Additional staff training. Additional group support on a regular basis eg. SEN TA group or SENCO group. Once a provision has been identified, the cycle of ASSESS-PLAN-DO-REVIEW (2) will commence. Outside Agency Provision Where pupils fail to make adequate progress despite additional provision from school, then the school will seek the advice and involvement of external support services. Eg SENSS. Educational Psychologist. Behaviour support. Teachers for the Hearing / Visually Impaired. Speech and Language Therapist. Autism Outreach. Physio and Occupational Therapists. These will be requested to: Provide specialist assessments. Give advice on teaching strategies and resources. Provide short term support and / or training for staff. Support parents. 5
This will be managed using the Staffordshire Common Assessment Framework. ( SCAF). This will bring either a single agency or multi agencies together to support a Team Around the Child. Every agency will then work together to ensure positive outcomes for the child. Primarily this will happen for those children for whom we are considering an education Health and Care Plan but may be useful in other cases too. Once a provision has been identified, the cycle of ASSESS PLAN - DO REVIEW(3) will commence. Formal Assessment and Additional Funding Following the Outside Agency Provision, if a pupil fails to make adequate progress and has demonstrated a significant cause for concern by failing to make progress following two Assess-Plan- Do-Review(3) cycles, then the school may decide to request a formal assessment. This may lead to a pupil being awarded an Education, Health and Care Plan( EHC Plan) which will identify the need(s) and provision(s) that the school must make in order for these to be met. For some children, it may also be necessary to apply to the LA for Additional Educational Need Funding to support the child on an individual basis. This will be done in consultation with the Educational Psychologist, Senco, Head teacher, Parents and where possible the child. This may follow two cycles of APDR(3), but will be dependent on need,so it may be necessary to do it earlier. Sometimes it may be necessary to consider alternative provision for the child. If this is the parents wishes, then this would be done through the SCAF, in consultation with the EP, Headteacher, Senco and parents. Assess-Plan Do-Review For pupils identified as having SEN, the class teacher with the support of the SENCO will devise an Individual Educational Programme (IEP), reflecting the provision that is additional to or different from the normal differentiated provision. An IEP will include: Short-term targets for the child. Teaching strategies to be used. Who is providing the intervention and how often Additional provision/ resources to be put in place. A timescale and space for review and outcomes of the targets. An IEP should be reviewed at least three times in an academic year, following consultation with the staff, parents and where possible the child. New targets should be identified The IEP will be communicated to all staff who work with the child as well as to the child s parents and other involved professionals If a child has an EHC Plan then there will be a formal annual review where staff, parents, the child if possible and other involved professionals, are invited to participate. Partnership Parents and pupils Victoria Community School actively seeks to work in partnership with parents and values the contribution they make. Parent partnership is actively encouraged through: Acknowledging the role of parents as partners in the education of their child. Effective communication through regular meetings, both informal and formal, newsletters etc. 6
Parent interviews and target setting. Meetings with parents to discuss IEPs. These will be offered in addition to the Parents Evening meeting. Parental contributions and views as part of the review process are recorded and acknowledged. Informal SEN coffee mornings. An open door policy to raise concerns or queries with teaching staff and the SENCO. Contact with parents of SEN children pre intake, to ensure needs are met. ( see admission arrangements in the School Prospectus). Supporting parents of SEN pupils, and the pupils themselves, with the transition process to secondary school. Ensuring that parents are fully informed about the provision they can access via the school s SEN Information Report and the Schools Local Offer on the e market place and www.stafordshirecares.co.uk. If a child has a medical condition, we aim to support and integrate the child into school life as much as possible, see Policy on managing medical conditions of pupils ( based on new regulations April 2014), see below In addition we assess all year 6 children to establish whether they are entitled to extra time for their assessments. Managing children with Medical Conditions The school recognises that pupils at school with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. Some children with medical conditions, who also have a disability, will be supported under the Equality Act 2010. Some may also have Special Educational Needs and may have an Education, Health and Care Plan, which brings together health and social care needs. as well as their educational needs. All children who have a medical condition eg asthma, food allergies, etc have an Individual Health Care Plan. This is established with the School Nurse and the Senco and reviewed annually. Every Class Teacher is aware of the children who have a plan and their plan is stored, with their medication in a locked cupboard in the classroom. If the child leaved the main school site ( even to go to Nursery), there is a box for the medication and the plan, so that it can accompany the child. There is also a photo board for the kitchen staff, in the staff room and in the school office. A copy of all medical protocols is also kept in the school office. Resources for SEN School is funded to meet the needs of all its pupils through its core budget. All resources, both staffing and materials, will be employed effectively to meet the needs of individuals and groups. Staff development Victoria Community School is committed to developing the skills, knowledge and understanding of all staff in Special Educational Needs (see Continuing Professional Development Policy) to enable them to meet the needs of all pupils. This is done through: Training opportunities at staff meetings School based INSET Attendance on courses Performance Management Providing book and other resources Priority through the School Improvement Plan 7
Monitoring and Evaluation Provision As part of the ongoing process of school monitoring and self review, the SENCO along with the Headteacher and senior management team, school staff and Governors will monitor the effectiveness of the policy and procedures in meeting the needs of SEN pupils. As part of the school improvement cycle, the SENCO will then identify priority targets annually for inclusion in the School Improvement Plan. Success factors will include: Early identification of pupils with SEN. Parents and pupils views and opinions are taken into account. The school and parents work in a partnership. Interventions and provision are regularly reviewed and evaluated via individual progress and data collection. Regular book scans across the school. Termly report to Governors. The school works in close co-operation with other agencies and fosters multi-agency working ( Health, Social Services, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, School Nurse, Spld Centre, Children s Centre, HOPE). That Education Health and Care plans are reviewed annually. Individual Education Plans are reviewed termly. Resources will be updated and their use reviewed annually. Arrangements for considering complaints If parents have concerns about the educational provision for a SEN pupil, in the first instance they should discuss their concerns with the SENCO. If they are still dissatisfied they should contact the head or finally the LEA. A formal complaint concerning special needs may be registered with: Special Services Burton District Office Education Department Grange Street Tipping Street Burton upon Trent Stafford Staffordshire ST16 3DH DE14 2ER Policy date: Oct 2014 Review Date: Oct 2015 8
Appendix A PROCEDURE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS IDENTIFICATION 1. Class Teacher to make a collection of evidence (eg observations, reports from other settings, work sample if appropriate). 2. Class Teacher to review formal assessment programme results if appropriate. Comparison made with expected progress. 3. Class teacher puts in class based intervention APDR (1), for a minimum of half a term, and reviews the results, 4. Class Teacher to present evidence and results to SENCO. 5. If appropriate, Individual Education Plan (IEP) written,aprd (2), including targets, teaching programme and support arrangements. Given sufficient evidence, outside agency support is requested immediately. SENSS support teacher advice sought, child then immediately placed on IEP. 6. IEP targets reviewed termly (discussed with at parents meetings). SENSS support teacher advice sought where necessary. At this stage some pupils may be eligible for AEN pupil funding. 7. If insufficient progress is made e.g. appropriate targets are not met, SENSS support teacher and SENCO advice sought regarding new targets. 8. If appropriate, eg decision made by Class Teacher, SENCO and SENSS support teacher, the child moves to Outside Agency Support. APDR (3) This identifies new targets, revised teaching programme and new support arrangements if appropriate. 9. IEP targets reviewed termly (discussed with parents at parents meetings, with an extra meeting with the SENCO if required). SENSS support teacher in addition to monitor targets. 10. If insufficient progress is made (eg appropriate new targets not met) following two cycles of APDR (3),SENCO, with support of Class Teacher, Parents and SENSS teacher, to notify Educational Psychologist requesting statutory assessment for an Education Health and Care Plan 11. Educational Psychologist to complete statutory assessment. Children receiving an education Health and Care Plan ( EHC Plan)follow recommended support and are reviewed annually according to County regulations. Children not given an EHC Plan return to APDR (3)and continue to be monitored by support services, SENSS support teacher, SENCO and Class Teacher. Formal Assessment Programmes which may be used to identify children for Special Needs Register. At Victoria we recognise that these indicators may be useful to recognise those children who are not making sufficient progress. 1. The children at the end of Nursery still on 22-36 months. 2. The children at the end of Reception still on 30-50 months. 3. The children at the end of Year 1 who are assessed on P Levels. 4. Children who do not have sufficient skills to access in class support within their year groups. 5. Those who score Level 1b or below in their SATs at the end of Key Stage 1. 6. Children whose siblings have already failed to make expected progress. 7. Children who enter Victoria during their schooling. 8. Children who find it difficult to complete the first language assessment or on completing it have shown areas of specific difficulty. 9. Children who are not well supported at home. 10. Children who achieve less than 85 on a standardised score. 9
Appendix B ROLE OF SPECIAL NEEDS CO-ORDINATOR Values, Principles and Strategic Development To work in partnership with the Headteacher, Governors and Staff promoting a learning environment which continually challenges us to raise the aspiration, expectation and achievement of everyone within our community. To take specific responsibilities for promoting policy and practice for pupils with Special Educational Needs which continually addresses support for pupils experiencing difficulties as well as advice and guidance to staff, parents and governors. To take responsibility for monitoring and supporting gifted and talented pupils To track the progress of out of year pupils and make recommendations about their return to peer groups To work in co-operation with the Educational Psychologist and SENSS Teacher. To contribute and make reports to the Inclusion Team As a member of the Inclusion Team take an active part in the development of the whole school. To set the highest standards as a Special Needs Teacher. To work closely with pupils, parents, staff and all appropriate agencies to ensure effective communication. To keep up to date with local and national initiatives and disseminate appropriately to colleagues. To work within the agreed SENS policy and contribute to its ongoing development. To present reports to the Headteacher, staff, Governors and parents outlining the effectiveness of the implementation of provision for Special Needs within the school. Leading and Managing Staff To support the recruitment, induction, mentorship and self-review of support staff. Especially those who are involved in working with SEN children. To liaise with colleagues to devise programmes of work, setting targets to support the ongoing needs of pupils. To work with Class Teachers, Key Stage Co-ordinators and Subject Leaders to monitor and update the progress of pupils whose identified needs may not require statementing. Efficient and Effective Development of Resources, Data and Documentation To ensure the effective co-ordination of all records, assessments and reviews required by the County Special Needs Service and the Code of Practice. To collate data relevant to the Special Needs within Victoria Community School and keep and regularly update the school Special Needs register and to take an active role in the review and implementation of the School Development Plan. To co-ordinate provision and use of Special Needs resources within the school. To liaise with outside agencies to support pupils and parents, attending meetings, case conferences etc as necessary. This role will be reviewed to reflect the developing needs of the school. 10